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Culture War Roundup for the week of November 6, 2023

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I don't think this is actually that different from the situation of normie grill pill Americans trying to enjoy franchises they grew up with, but where the messaging has taken over the characters and story.

The main thing is that, recently, it isn't "otherwise good."

But also, I don't think most people are able to set their BS thresholds consciously.

Personally, I'll put up with a fair bit if the actors, costuming, makeup, and lighting are good. Still, I'm about to give up on Neil Gaiman adaptations, because while I enjoy the aesthetics, the LGB relationships have become just about the whole thing. Also, the Strong Females of Marvel (still enjoying Loki though; hope they don't pull anything extra dumb in the last episode...). The nonsensical ethnicities in Wheel of Time would doubtless be obvious to anyone, anywhere, but I'm basically willing to overlook it, because this season the acting, music, and costuming were basically good (and as a non book reader, the plot was intelligible, all things considered, unlike season 1). Which I think is more the median American position -- it's forgivable to mess with races and sexes a bit in the name of The Culture, as long as you're actually making an effort in general.

What did you make of Rings of Power? I only watched the first episode myself, and didn't go back to it because I was told they weren't making the effort in general to faithfully reproduce Tolkien.

I ignored it altogether, and didn’t try to watch it. I also didn’t try to watch the last two hobbit movies, because they seemed bloated. We did just rewatch the 1970s animated Hobbit with the kids this week, which was fun.

That was a mistake. Hobbit 2 was close to greatness, and 3 was tolerable. Both were considerably better than 1. It isn't the book, but it was worth it.

Good to know, maybe I'll give them another chance. I liked the 2001 - 2003 LotR trilogy a lot.

The greatest adventure - is what lies ahead. Today and tomorrow are yet to be said.

Great soundtrack.

Oh, boy. I am actually looking forward to the second season, if they do eventually release it (they made a lot of big noises about it was being filmed and was coming out so yah boo sucks to you critics of the first season) not because I think it's a great adaptation (I could write a very long post on that one) or even that I think it's a good TV show (again, I could write a lot on that) but because the first season was so bad, I can't wait to see if they can top the stupidity.

They're giving some good indications they might be even dumber second time round, but it's hard to say, as all the trumpeting publicity has somehow died down and we're not getting much unless we go searching for it.

Can they outdo "I am going to swim across an entire ocean non-stop", "I took a pyroclastic flow to the face and walked it off" or "Our main character and Big Heroine is actually a sadistic genocidal psychopath, why won't you cheer for her?" in the new season? I want to know!

Most Sensible Character in the First Season: Horsie what runs away from them all.

Character I Liked Best in the First Season: Evil? Have you looked at Galadriel?

They Changed The Actor, Now It Will Suck: Good move jumping ship but he was the best thing in it.

Dirty Little Psychopaths: Leave members of your group behind to die and then later laugh about it. Are we sure Galadriel isn't really a Harfoot?

Who Needs Supplies, Transport, or Weapons When You Can Just Stroll There?: Khazad-dum and Eregion are just down the road from each other.

Who Needs Supplies When You Can Just Teleport There?: Lucky the Big Dang Heroes Numenorean Army knew just where to go and just when to arrive, isn't it?

Bigger On The Inside: We started off with five ships for our rescue/invasion fleet, but then two got burninated. Luckily, three is all we need for the horses, soldiers, supplies and so forth, because Numeorean advanced technology includes the secrets of the Tardis.

Dey Tuk Er Jerbs!: Yeah, you heard me right.